The systems and methods of the invention are directed to the processing of applications in the financial services industry.
In the financial services industry, applications for a financial product or service come into a firm or other company environment. These applications are obtained from any of a wide variety of sources and typically respectively pertain to a variety of products offered by the particular company. The effective and efficient processing of such applications are critical to the survival of a financial services entity. However, the processing of these applications is very complex due to various reasons, including the needed detail involved in such applications. Processing of the applications is further complicated by the mandates of state and federal regulations. These regulations are often situation dependent making processing of applications more complex. Adding further complexity is the fact that applicable regulations often vary between states. A further known complication is effectively accessing and using documents that are needed for processing of applications. As one can imagine, effective access to needed documents is critical to business success in a highly competitive market.
As is known, the processing of an application in the financial services industry, such as an insurance application, involves many phases. For an insurance application, these phases might include the initial processing of an application, interacting with the customer to secure needed items or information, and then underwriting of the application. However, various other phases may be involved in the processing of an insurance application, not to mention the processing of other financial products.
As might be expected, various approaches are known to effect the processing of such applications in the financial services industry. At the most basic level, such applications are processed by hand, moving from one person to another as the application process proceeds. However, known processes fail to provide the automation and functionality needed to process such applications in an efficient and effective manner.
The methods and systems of the invention address the above, as well as other problems and shortcomings of known techniques for processing applications.